James torches Hornets, Heat start new streak

March 29, 2013|Reuters

The Sports Xchange

By Peter Finney Jr., The Sports Xchange

James torches Hornets, Heat start new streak

NEW ORLEANS -- For LeBron James, it was a stunningly good Friday.

Two days after seeing his team's 27-game winning streak snapped by the Chicago Bulls, James pounded the New Orleans Hornets into submission by scoring 28 of his 36 points in the first half -- making 10 consecutive shots, including six from 3-point range -- to power the Miami Heat to a 108-89 victory Friday night at the New Orleans Arena.

"Hey, when you're having one of those nights, you just want to keep it going," said James, whose 28 points in the first 15:37 of the game were actually one more than what the entire Hornets' team scored. "I had a 3-on-1 break, and Mike (Miller) passed it to me, and I stopped for a 3. I haven't done that since probably high school or my early years in Cleveland.

"I felt good, and I just tried to keep it going - ride that wave, that heat wave - no pun intended."

Even James' puns were connecting Friday night.

James played only 12 minutes in the second half, but his first-half damage was a lethal response to the first-quarter struggles the Heat had fallen into over the previous three games.

James was so hot it took New Orleans nearly 18 minutes to outscore him. But even though Al-Farouq Aminu had a rebound follow to make the "score" Hornets 29, James 28 with 6:10 left in the second quarter, the Heat still led 49-29 at the time.

Dwayne Wade said he has seen James get rolling before, but this was a white-hot performance he enjoyed watching for a brief period from the Miami bench .

"I had a chance to watch the show," Wade said, laughing. "When any player gets going like that, it's phenomenal to see. It's a special time. Only a select few have it."

Wade said when James came to the bench five minutes into the second quarter with 28 points, he was all business.

"He's not funny," Wade said. "I just wanted (to see) it keep going and keep going. When a guy is hitting like that, you don't even say much to him. You don't know what to do. You don't know whether you should leave him alone or (pump) him up. I just stayed away from him. I just waved a towel."

Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said James has done some amazing things in the last few years, but this scoring spurt stood out because James did it almost exclusively from the outside.

"He hit the first three (3-pointers), and that doesn't happen very often," Spoelstra said. "At that point, I just let it ride to see how far it could go. We were all just waiting to see when it would end."

Hornets coach Monty Williams said there wasn't much he could do to slow down James.

"When a guy like LeBron gets going like that, any kind of defense isn't going to help you when he's shooting from 25 feet away," Williams said. "I thought the first couple (of 3-pointers) were too easy for him, but he just hit some tough shots."

After sitting for about four minutes in the second quarter, James returned with 3:13 left but did not take a shot, preferring to distribute the ball.

"It's maturity," Spoelstra said of James' decision not to force the action. "He plays the game the right way. We were in the penalty, and he was telling the guys, 'Attack and get to the free throw line. He's a great player. He just come in and plays the game. He's a first-class professional."

The victory, which started another winning streak, ensured the Heat (57-15) the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

James' scoring explosion started innocently enough. He missed his first jumper of the game -- a 20-footer one minute in -- but then he nailed his next 10 shots, including six consecutive 3-pointers.

It could have been seven 3-pointers, but James had his toes on the line on one jumper from the right wing. After that shot went through, putting Miami up 39-24, James stood motionless behind the 3-point line and stared at the crowd.

The Heat shot 69.7 percent from the field in the first half (23 of 33), but in a 17:21 span of the first and second quarters, they connected on 20 of 25 shots (80 percent).

His six first-half 3-pointers gave James 100 for the season. It marked the first time in NBA history that a team had four players (James, Ray Allen, Shane Battier and Mario Chalmers) with at least 100 3-pointers for a season.

Wade had 17 points and Norris Cole added 12 for Miami. New Orleans (25-48) was paced by Ryan Anderson with 20.